Alas. I have no pictures of these wonderful items, but I plan to make them again soon and will try to get myself together a little better then. I look forward to having one or two of them whenever I make them because they are so absolutely incredible. I’d put them in the same category as my pumpkin-chocolate timbales. And they’re so rich and so strongly flavored that you just can’t eat too many–not at once, anyway The best kind of treat if you’re trying to limit sugar.
A number of years ago I found a recipe in the King Arthur Flour catalog called “Chocolate Stout Cupcakes.” I thought they sounded so good, got some chocolate stout (which is a type of strong, dark beer), and made them a number of times. People seemed to like them, but I always thought that they were a little dry and lacking in flavor. Then last year the great, the peerless Sally McKinney at Sally’s Baking Addiction posted a recipe called “Guinness Brownies.” Guinness is also a strong, dark beer. Hmmm, I thought, I’ll bet that would work well with chocolate stout, which is probably about the same as the Guinness, but who can resist the idea of chocolate-flavored beer? (Although I have to say that I tasted the stout once and found it unbelievably bitter.)
So I made a couple of changes to Sally’s recipe: swapping out the Guinness for the stout (I get something called “Young’s Double Chocolate Stout”) and using bittersweet chocolate instead of semi-sweet. I buy little espresso “tubes” made by Cafe Bustelo at the grocery store that have about the right amount for the total needed in the brownies and her frosting. I also bake the brownies in mini-muffin pans, using little foil muffin liners. As I’ve often said, while making individual-size baked goods takes some extra time and effort on the front end, you can then put them out on a tray and people can just come through the line and take one without fuss or muss. Cutting moist fudgy brownies into neat pick-up-able squares is almost impossible. So here’s my version of the recipe, with two frosting options. I decided after making them for our reception this past weekend after the Cherry Creek Chorale’s concert (best ever–but if you missed it you can still come to our May concert, which will, of course, be the new best ever) that I like the chocolate ganache frosting rather than the espresso frosting. Your choice!
Chocolate Stout Mini Brownies with Two Frosting Options
These are so seriously dark and rich that you can't eat very many of them, but every single molecule counts. This recipe is based on the "Guinness Brownies" from Sally's Baking Addiction and the "Chocolate Stout Cupcakes" from King Arthur Flour. You can also make root-beer brownies--they're awfully good, too. I give info for that variation in the notes.
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 1 12-oz. or 14-oz. can or bottle dark beer, Guinness or Chocolate Stout Guinness comes in 12-oz. bottles, Chocolate Stout in 14-oz. canes--either is fine
- 3/4 cup, or 1 1/2 sticks, 12 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted
- 2 4-ounce bars semisweet or bitterswet baking chocolate Ghirardelli or Baker's are good brands and readily available at the grocery store. I like the bittersweet in this recipe to make them even darker and richer.
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs I usually have extra-large or jumbo eggs on hand, so that' what I used.
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract Real vanilla has become ridiculously expensive; I've been using something called "Baker's Extract" by a company called Rodelle. I refuse to buy artificial vanilla extract, but this is a combo of chocolate, vanilla and other natural flavorings. I'll plan to use that until the cost of regular vanilla comes down.
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2-1 tsp. espresso powder I use Cafe Bustelo espresso powder that comes in little tubes.
Instructions
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In a small saucepan, bring the Guinness or stout to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer until reduced down to 2/3 cup, about 20-22 minutes. This is kind of a fussy process, as you have to pour the reducing beer into a heatproof measuring cup to see how far down it has gone. It can take several tries to get it reduced enough. Set aside to cool for at least 10 minutes. You will use 1/2 cup in the brownies and the rest in the frosting if you are making the powdered-sugar version. If you're making the ganache frosting, then I'd just go ahead and boil down the beer to 1/2 cup, which will make it a little stronger but not unacceptably so.
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I make these brownies specifically for receptions, so I use mini-muffin pans, the ones that have 24 wells per pan. I buy small foil liners and spray the insides with a quick spritz of cooking spray. If you want to just make a pan of brownies, use a 9x9 size and line with foil, leaving an overhang to facilitate removal. If you're doing that, it's also a good idea to spritz the foil.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl that's big enough to mix the whole batch of batter and microwave on 50% power for 2 minutes, then check to see if the butte has melted. You may need another 30 seconds to a minute--do 30 seconds at a time. Put the chocolate, chopped or just broken into squares, into the melted butter and let sit until partially melted, then stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, Again, as above, you may need to do an additional 30 seconds or so. Be sure to use 50% power and not high! Whisk in the sugar and 1/2 cup of reduced Guinness until completely combined. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Finally, whisk in the flour, salt, and espresso powder (if using). The batter will be thick and shiny. I then use a small "disher"--the 1 tablespoon size--to scoop the batter into the individual muffin wells. If you're using a regular pan, just spread the batter evenly in the pan.
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Bake 10-15 minutes for the individual mini brownies and 30-35 minutes for a panful. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Don't overbake! You want the brownies to be moist.
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Let cool, the frost. I think these do need the frosting, as on their own they're not very sweet. See below for your frosting choices.
Recipe Notes
To make root beer brownies, use the same amount of root beer as beer, boiling it down as indicated. Root beer extract in the place of vanilla will intensity the root beer flavor, of course, but isn't absolutely necessary.
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Very, very simple and very, very rich.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into squares I'd go with bittersweet
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
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Put the cream in a microwave-safe small bowl and heat at 50% power until good and hot, 1 1/2-2 minutes. then stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly, then use your faithful disher to put a little dab on each brownie. They will each have a small sunken well, so aim to just fill that up. Of course, if you baked the brownies in a pan then you'll just spread it on like any other frosting. You don't want the brownies to be warm, but you do want the ganache to be slightly so, as it hardens as it cools.
Beer-Espresso Frosting
Sweeter than the ganache, but with a nice zing from the flavorings.
Ingredients
- 1 stick, 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2-3 tablespoons reduced beer from the brownies I just go ahead and use it all.
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. espresso powder, optional (but not really)
- 1/4 tsp. salt if you used unsalted butter
Instructions
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Using a hand or stand mixer with paddle, beat butter until creamy and then add powdered sugar, mixing on low until combined and then beating at medium-high until well combined. Beat in rest of ingredients. Frost cooled brownies.